Blow for Blow

RE: Gaza: Hamas Presses for Calm (4/2/10)

On April 2nd, the Associated Press wrote an article entitled “Gaza: Hamas Presses for Calm,” in which the Associated Press indicate that leaders of Hamas are attempting to keep the large amount of attacks in check against Israel after an airstrike on the Gaza from Israel, which subsequently occurred after a rocket strike against Israel from Hamas. While I admire Hamas speaking up about keeping violent attacks to a minimum, I somehow feel that “calm” cannot exactly be called when the airstrike against Hamas was a retaliatory against from a previous missile launched by the Palestinians. While I understand that the depth of this conflict has existed since the 1960s and can be traced hundreds of years back, missile launches and airstrikes are going to do little in helping reconcile the injuries caused by the Israelis in their occupation of the Gaza Strip. Instead of violence, I hope that a meeting between the two sides without preconditions could happen in the near future, as this will hopefully provide both sides the ability to discuss and come to terms with one another.